DUKE GRINDS OUT TOUGH WIN OVER SANTA CLARAThe Blue Devils welcomed the Santa Clara Broncos into Cameron
Indoor Stadium on Saturday and got their most difficult test since taking over
the nation's top-ranked spot in the Associated Press and coaches polls. Santa
Clara staked a 45-41 lead four minutes into the second half, but Duke pulled
away following a 21-3 run over the next 6:30 that gave Duke a 62-48 lead. Seth
Curry scored 12 of his career-high 31 points during a 16-3 run within that
stretch.

As has been the trend all season, Curry and fellow seniors Ryan
Kelly and Mason Plumlee propelled Duke to the victory by combining for 63
points in the 90-77 victory. Curry's 31 points were the most since Nolan Smith
scored 34 against North Carolina on Feb. 9, 2011, while Kelly and Plumlee both
notched double-doubles. Kelly finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while
Plumlee dominated the interior with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. To
date, Curry, Kelly and Plumlee have combined for at least 40 points in 11 of
Duke's 12 games this season.

NON-CONFERENCE HOME WIN STREAK REACHES 101 Another non-conference opponent in Cameron and another win for the
Blue Devils. Santa Clara became the most recent addition to a long line of
non-conference victories for Duke on Coach K Court, as the Blue Devils extended
their non-conference home court winning streak to 101 consecutive games. The
streak is the longest active run in the nation and the longest in school
history, besting the previous Duke record of 95 wins from Feb. 2, 1983 to Dec.
2, 1995. Duke has not lost to a non-conference opponent in Cameron Indoor
Stadium since an 83-82 defeat at the hands of St. John's on Feb. 26, 2000.
Since the streak began the following season on November 25, 2001, eight Duke
classes have come and gone without losing a home game to a non-league foe.

DUKE RENEWS LONGEST NON-CONFERENCE SERIES ON WEDNESDAY
Duke will renew one of the oldest series in program history on
Wednesday when the Blue Devils head to Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., for
a 7 p.m. meeting with the Davidson Wildcats. The Blue Devils and Wildcats have
met 105 times since 1909 with Duke holding an 88-17 advantage in the all-time
series. The 105 meetings are the most Duke has played any non-ACC team in
school history and the seventh most meetings of any opponent Duke has faced
since the program's inaugural season in 1905-06. Here is a look at the
most-played series in Duke history:

Opponent

Meetings

First
Meeting

NC State

290

1912

Wake Forest

237

1906

North Carolina

234

1920

Maryland

173

1926

Virginia

163

1911

Clemson

133

1926

Davidson

105

1909

Georgia Tech

88

1922

South Carolina

76

1914

PLUMLEE NETS 1,000TH POINTMason Plumlee entered Saturday's contest against Santa Clara with
981 career points and in need of 19 more to reach 1,000 for his career. Plumlee
got his 19 and then some to become the 61st Duke player to reach the
1,000-point plateau. By scoring his 1,000th career point, Plumlee moved Duke
into sole possession of third place on the NCAA's top 1,000-point scorer
programs, trailing only North Carolina (66) and Louisville (65) and moving
ahead of Kentucky (60). Plumlee's senior classmate Seth Curry is in line to be
the next Blue Devil to score his 1,000th career point, standing just shy of
that mark with 970 career points following his 31-point effort on Saturday
against Santa Clara.

STAT OF THE WEEK
The new year has been kind to the Blue Devils who have won their
first game after the turn of the calendar in 16 consecutive seasons. Duke is
29-3 all-time under head coach Mike Krzyzewski in the first game of the
calendar year. Duke's last loss in the first game of the new year came on Jan.
3, 1996 against Clemson.

JONES, DESOTO WIN SUMMIT HOSPITALITY CHAMPIONSHIP
Duke signee Matt Jones guided
his DeSoto High School squad to the Summit Hospitality Championship on Friday
in Raleigh, N.C., scoring nine points in a win over St. Joseph's. Jones grabbed
five rebounds against St. Joseph's in the culmination of a tournament that saw
him score 17 points against North Carolina powerhouse Kinston in the opening
round and 18 against Hampton in the semifinals. Jones, a 6-4, 180-pound guard
from DeSoto, Texas, is a consensus top-40 recruit by the major scouting
services and is ranked as high as No. 30 by Scout.com.
He is one of two members of Duke's 2013 freshman class, joining Ottawa High
School (Ottawa, Kan.) forward Semi Ojeleye who is ranked as high as the No. 25
overall prospect by Scout.com.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK"I don't understand the people who say Duke has hit its ceiling
and that the Blue Devils aren't going to get any better. Um, why not? Rasheed
Sulaimon is a freshman who has played 12 college basketball games. Sophomore
Quinn Cook, who saw limited action last season, is seven weeks deep into his
first season as the Blue Devils' point guard. Why would anyone think those
players wouldn't improve as the season progresses? With Cook and Sulaimon trending
upward and with Mason Plumlee increasing his lead in the national player of the
year race -- he had 22 points, 13 boards and 5 assists in Saturday's 90-77 win
over Santa Clara -- I think Duke will continue to get better. And that's
scary."
- Jason King, ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/71296/kings-saturday-observations-2